Some politicians are so full of their own personal agenda that it is a waste spending time to persuade them, and so unreliable that bypassing them is necessary. The best would be to have them replaced - but that's unrealistic.

The recent meeting of Xi and Macron is promising - and IMO it shows that Trump - in this area too - has weakened the relevance of the USA in world. Strengthening his ties with the religious right just consolidates a position in the camp of countries ruled by religious reactionaries. This, of course, does not prevent in-fighting in the religious camp, which has a number of very serious humanitarian, environmental and economic consequences.

Navigating is difficult in this complex mix of reactionaries, tyrants, money grabbers, sociopaths, idealists and saints. But letting the reactionaries have their way without resistance is an infallible path into ruin.